Could citrus flavonoids boost chemo for rectal cancer? new trial launches

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria 1. Histopathologically confirmed rectal adenocarcinoma; all other histologic subtypes are excluded. Presence of hemorrhoids confirmed by colonoscopy or clinical physical examination. 2. Radiographically measurable or clinically evaluable rectal tumor lesion; clinical pathologic stage T2N+ or T3-4aAnyN, M0. Clinical staging is determined by physical examination, contrast-enhanced chest and abdominopelvic CT, and pelvic MRI. For patients with MRI contraindications, staging is performed with contrast-enhanced pelvic CT plus transrectal ultrasound. Staging adheres to the 9th AJCC TNM Staging System (Appendix 1). 3. Pelvic MRI confirms the tumor is not adherent to the mesorectal fascia (MRF-negative), defined as a tumor-MRF distance ≥ 2 mm (tumor distance \< 2 mm is defined as MRF involvement). 4. ectal cancer tumor specimens demonstrate high YWHAB expression by immunohistochemistry. 5. Age 18-75 years at the time of informed consent. 6. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0 or 1 (Appendix 3). 7. No prior systemic anticancer therapy for rectal cancer, including cytotoxic chemotherapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors, molecular targeted agents, or endocrine therapy. 8. Adequate organ function with screening laboratory parameters meeting the following criteria: * White blood cell count ≥ 3 × 10⁹/L * Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L * Platelet count ≥ 75 × 10⁹/L * Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 × upper limit of normal (ULN) * Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 2.5 × ULN * Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 × ULN 9. Females of childbearing potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test within 3 days prior to initiation of study treatment and agree to use a highly effective, medically acceptable contraceptive method (e.g., intrauterine device, combined oral contraceptives, barrier methods) throughout the study and for 3 months after the last study drug administration. 10. Male patients with partners of childbearing potential must practice effective contraception during the study and for 3 months following the last study drug administration. 11. The patient voluntarily provides written informed consent and is willing and able to comply with all scheduled study visits, treatment administration, laboratory assessments, and protocol-specified procedures.